TR EMERITUS

It’s about people, people, people. You make connection. You nourish them. You network. Professor Charles Galunic makes a few good point about networking. You can read the article for them, like, diversify your network, don’t wait until you hit a crisis to network, don’t be held captive by your ego (don’t be a prima donna), and don’t overindulge in cliques. This is not for everyone, but getting yourself out there is necessary if you are running a career, a club, or even a church. The latter is done much more subtly, but no less intentionally. The gospel message is essentially about reaching out. It’s a race for life, and against death, so to speak. They say if you offer something needful, useful and even hopeful, they will make a beeline to your door. If you hit a goldmine of an idea, like FB, KFC recipe or AI, you can rest on your laurels and reap in the harvest. It’s a lifetime of leg shaking after that, right? Well, there is a lot of hard work that goes into securing those breakthroughs. Alas, we are naturally drawn to bright lights. But a root hidden in the soil and growing an inch is unseen. Yet, they form the foundation of what is seen, and even glorious. So, going back to networking, it doesn’t come naturally to everyone. There’s no one size fits all here. Some of us are livewire in a crowd of perfect strangers, and we draw energy and vitality from chatting, mingling and engaging. We are physically exhausted, before we are emotionally sapped. Others, well, like me, we are hidden, maybe like searching roots, struggling for grounded connection. It takes a lot out of us, literally. Networking, for the latter group, takes stamina, a psyched-up mindset, and a purpose that goes beyond ourselves, our self-interest. That is the key. It is about you, yes, you need to grow your business, your club, your church. But it is also about how you can make a difference, an enduring impact. Yes, you get yourself out there, but not to hoard what you can hoard, but give what you can give. This is how the good professor puts it: / “One reason people loathe networking is because of the way it can be framed. Typically, it’s an ask, it can be seen as a selfish, self-promoting act. The caricature is that of a schmoozy networker who goes into it focused on getting something but giving as little as possible.” “But the best relationships arising from networking are a two-way street. Staring with a mindset of “give (first) and take” instead of “take, take, take.””. That makes sense. It’s about people, people, people. Relationship is highly relevant. The depth of that connection is what truly counts. Reality check: We can’t possibly be BFF with every tom, dick and harry. But, every tom, dick and harry will surely come our way, at some point, for a season, and how we respond, whether in kindness or otherwise, is what make us human being and connecting. What goes around, comes around. The boomerang of life is both redemptive and karmic. Hurt people hurt people. Helped people help people. Pay it forward, and someone will have your back. But stepping on other people’s back just to climb higher will end up with a harder fall. if you want solid backing, then go for authentic connecting. Maybe the lesson here for dummies like me who are more socially unexciting and reserved, is to take incremental steps towards networking. Keep the mind, and heart open. Step out of my shell, and mingle more. Engage on a deeper level. Remember that the small stuff matters as much as the big stuff, they all add up. And be realistic. The last time I checked, God gave me 24/hrs a day, 7 days a week. I can’t do it all. I shouldn’t lose myself; that “who I am” for “who I am clearly not”. But a little social experimenting and stretching is good for the hidden soul. Find the balance, push a little, lose yourself a little, but don’t lose yourself completely in the journey of self-discovery.   Michael Han * The author was a Director at Han & Lu  Law Chambers and blogs on Facebook.    Read More →

We Have Become A Mad Society Under The PAP! If you are the middle class or aspiring to join the middle class in Singapore, you may feel like crying.And I can understand your anguish. How does one fathom the craziness of the society the PAP has created with Category B COEs hitting a new record of $146 002, up from $140,889 in the last tender. And the Open category COE has also gone to a new high of $152,000,from $144,640. Lawrence Wong, you can talk till the cows come home and nobody will believe a word of what you utter about narrowing inequality. You are part of the problem,which has seen inequality skyrocket under the PAP government. Your Forward Singapore exercise has been a total waste of time and does not possess a shred of credibility. You too are a total waste of time!Please do not waste any more public funds to print the report. Nobody is interested. We Must Regain Our Country, Our Dignity, Our Future!   Lim Tean    Read More →

Never in the history of Singapore sports has a female athlete captured such a rapturous outburst of ovation for a female Singapore athlete for her spectacular singular achievement of capturing the gold medal in the 100 metre event of the Asia Game in Hangzhou in China. Shanti Pereira is the Singapore Sprint Queen in every sense of he word. Even PM Lee Hsien and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam were overawed and proudly added in their congratulation. Could it be a divine disposition that after fifty years of drought in the female sprint talent a sprint champion is born to take the world by storm. And coming from a minority ethnic group makes it all the more remarkable. She almost made it to a sprint double but missed the 100 metre gold by a whisker. She is indeed a sprint champion in Asia and the Olympic sprint contest with world female athlete will not daunt her. So far there does not appear to be any formidable challenger to Shanti Pereira on the world athletic scene and she may just have the nerve to pull off a victory.in the sprint events in the Olympic. The training to prepare her for the competition was gruelling and her personal coach Luis Cunha ha done a vey remarkable job in perfecting her for the race. As a coach he has to be unobtrusive but from what little that had been made public about his expertise for training Shanti Pereira I think he deserves a national medal for his dedication. I think quite a lot of credit should be given to him for Shanti's achievements. Almost overnight Shanti Pereira has become a household name not only in Singapore but in the West as well. Dos not the PM Lee Hsien Loong think some form of national prestige should be awarded Shanti Pereira? Money she may demur but a national medal will certainly boost her confidance.   Yoong Siew Wah * The author was the Director of Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) from 1971 to 1974. He was Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in the 1960s, and had a distinguished career in the Singapore Special Branch in the 1950s      Read More →